Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1948 – December 12 2014

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1948 – December 12 2014

The following is a QST. Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1948 with a release date of December 12th 2014 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. Hams in the Philippines respond to yet another typhoon; ham radio suggested as a way to inform the West Bengal fishing fleet of imminent danger; U-K telecommunications regulator Ofcom evaluating future of the 420 to 470 MHz band; Nevassa Island DXpedition makes ready for departure before months and a 2 ½ minute video shows how the International Space Station was put together in orbit. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1948 coming your way right now.


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RESCUE RADIO: PHILIPPINE HAMS FACE TYPHOON HAGUPIT

They are called HERO’s in the Philippines and with good reason. They put their lives on the line almost every time they activate and the past week dealing with Typhoon Hagupit has been no exception. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reports.

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It’s very rare that ham radio operators will literally put their lives on hold but in the Philippines it is the natural thing to do when disaster appears imminent. And that’s exactly what members of the Ham Radio Emergency Operation or HERO network have done time and again. And as Typhoon Hagupit moved slowly across the Pacific Ocean toward their nation, the Philippine Amateur Radio Association activated these emergency communicator to once again be ready for action. WIA News anchor Graham Kemp. VK4BB, fills us in from here:

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Yes the HERO network certainly has been active in latest Philippines disaster.

As Typhoon Hagupit moved slowly across the Pacific Ocean the Philippines Amateur Radio Association activated its Ham Radio Emergency Operation network.

HERO reported that the typhoon made its first landfall at the town of Dolores at Eastern Samar in the east of the Philippines, bringing heavy rain, wind, and causing damage.

The storm, the worst of the year, flattened flimsy homes, toppled trees, cutting power and communications. It moved across the archipelago taking four days and claimed 30 lives.

Coastal and low lying areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 did not take any chances this time with the evacuation of up to one million people.

Sadly, this latest typhoon hit many of the areas yet to recover from last year when 6,500 people were killed.

The National Telecommunications Commission requested ham stations set up at the NTC headquarters in Metro Manila and its regional offices. Hams were also embedded in various disaster and risk-minimization operations.

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Confidence that the HERO network is adequately handling all emergency traffic was shown by some 150 stations checking into the typhoon emergency communications net. The HERO network is still running basically from 7am and 7pm local time and has a 2 pm roll call to know each station's reception capabilities at differing levels of propagation.

With Graham Kemp, VK4BB, in Australia, I’m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom in Los Angeles. Jim:

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The ham radio operators involved in this mission say that they will be available as long as they are needed. (PARA, WIA News, VK3PC)

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RESCUE RADIO: SEVERE WEATER ALERTING TO WEST BENGAL FISHING FLEET VIA HAM RADIO BEING DISCUSSED

The benefits of amateur radio will be showcased for India’s West Bengal's fishing community. This as one way to ensure that severe weather warnings reach them when they are stationed in deep seas. This according to an official on Monday, December 1st.

Experts at the regional meteorological department will demonstrate ham radio technology to the fishing community at one-day meet in Digha, with the help of Bengal fisheries department and West Bengal Amateur Radio Club.

Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, a licensed amateur radio operator who is the custodian of the club. He and two of his colleagues were scheduled to explain the technicalities of amateur radio and to apprise them of how high frequency radio can be successfully used for direct, long-distance communications during inclement weather.

Devendra Pradhan is a deputy director general at a regional meteorological centre in Kolkata. He says that if the state government decides to go ahead with the proposal, then ham could be used to effectively transmit warnings to the fishermen, sailing in the deep sea, about 200 km away from shore and pending severe weather conditions.

There was no mention in the article concerning the licensing of the fishing community to permit two way communications or if this would be a one-way only broadcast set up on a fixed frequency somewhere in the ham radio spectrum. Most likely on 75 or 40 meter SSB.

The complete story is at tinyurl.com/west-bengal-fishing-radio (IANS, newskarala.com)

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RESTRUCTURING: UK REGULATOR OFCOM LOOKING AT 420 TO 470 MHZ USE

United Kingdom telecommunications regulator Ofcom has published a call for inputs as part of its strategic review of the 420 to 470 MHz spectrum band. This says Ofcom will help it to understand whether its current approach to managing the band is able to meet the needs of current and future users.

Uses for the band are diverse and complex and its configuration is not fully aligned with the European spectrum configuration plan. Users include business radio, the emergency services and utilities, among others. With potential new users also wanting to make use of these frequencies, demand is increasing. Several Region One terrestrial and space based amateur radio allocations fall within this fifty megahertz spectral parcel.

This document invites comments from stakeholders findings as well as other input which stakeholders consider relevant to the Ofcom analysis of the 420 to 470 MHz band, including its proposed work program for the next phase of its strategic review. This call for inputs on the consideration proposal closes on February 19th 2015. (Ofcom, Southgate)

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HRIS: RUSSIAN SSTV FROM THE ISS

Russian Slow Scan Television or SSTV transmissions are planned from the International Space Station on December 18 and 20. The transmit frequency will be 145.800 MHz with a 3 minute off time between transmissions.

The expected mode is PD180 producing a high quality image with a frame scan of 187 seconds. A total of 12 different photos will be sent throughout an operation period.

Image transmissions for December 18th should begin around 14:20 UTC and on December. 20th look for signals to start around 12:40 UTC. For both days, operation is expected to terminate around 21:30 UTC.

Please note that the SSTV operation times may change due to any launch delays of the SpaceX CRS-5 scheduled for December 16th. Received images can be uploaded to the image gallery found at tinyurl.com/december-2014-ariss-sstv (ARISS, AA4KN)

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DX UP FRONT: K1N NAVASSA ISLAND DXPEDITION

In DX up front, preparations for the early 2015 Nevassa Island operation are well underway. This according to a press release from planners Bob Allphin, K4UEE, Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, and Mike Thomas, NA5U. According to the trio, all of their equipment is being assembled, tested and packed. The container of equipment and supplies will depart late in December enroute to the helicopter staging area. The group says that it has contracted with the largest helicopter operations group in the Caribbean to transfer personnel and equipment to the island. Although the actual dates may still vary, it now appears the group of fifteen operators will begin transport to the Island during the last week of January. More information and regular updates are on the web at www.navassadx.com for details. (KP1-5 Project)

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DX UP FRONT: COOK ISLANDS SPECIAL CALL PREFIX

E51AND has told the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter that Cook Island's resident hams will be allowed a special 1 by1 callsign for use during the 50th anniversary of Self Governance in 2015. The special call is available for use at the operator's discretion only during the period January 1st, 2015 to December 31st. Visitors to the island will be issued callsigns in accordance with current practice. (OPDX)

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BREAK 1

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W6VPZ repeater located atop Palos Verdes California.


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ENFORCEMENT: COPPER THIEVES TAKE NORTH CAROLINA STATION OFF THE AIR

A Morgantown North Carolina radio station was taken off the air after thieves struck sometime on Thursday December 4th. The owners of the station came to work to find thieves had ripped the building apart and done thousands of dollars in damage to the transmitter. The damage was so bad, the station can’t even get on the air.

Owner John Whisnant said that he knew something was wrong when he turned the dial to AM 760 and didn't hear a thing. He said that the thieves got in by cutting their way through a fence topped with barbed wire on the top. Thy then climbed through a window where they gutted the stations two transmitters of its copper wiring.

The actual value of the copper wire taken is estimated at only about $250 but the overall damage to the station will be in the area of $50,000 to repair. (Published news reports)

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HAM HAPPENINGS: BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA NATIONAL JOTA REPORT

The Boy Scouts of America have released their 2014 report for the Jamboree On The Air or JOTA held in October. The report shows an across the board decline in participation by Boy Scout Councils, individual Scouts, and by amateur stations.

Attendance at JOTA took a big jump in 2012 with 18,566 Scouts and visitors. Since then the number has fallen by more than 5,000 to this year’s total of 13,326. Likewise only 148 Boy Scout Councils were active this year. That number is down from 173 in 2013.

Jim Wilson K5ND is the National Jamboree On The Air Coordinator. He says that 354 stations had registered this year, but only 205 submitted operating reports. This makes it difficult for organizers to have an accurate picture of exactly how many stations and scouts were really involved.

But the news was not all negative. The report noted growth in the number of Radio Merit Badges earned in 2013 at 7208. In addition, some 6800 Amateur Radio Operator Rating Strips were sold in its first year. This uniform insignia indicates the wearer’s availability as an Amateur Radio operator. (N7UR, Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire, ARRL)

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HAM BUSINESS: DX ENGINEERING ACQUIRES BENCHER AND BUTTERNUT ANTENNAS

Talmadge, Ohio-based DX Engineering has announced acquisition of Bencher Incorporated’s antenna product lines. This includes the rights Bencher Skyhawk, Skylark, and Butternut antenna products. DX Engineering will also provide replacement pars for these antennas. The deal does not include the Bencher line of Iambic Morse paddles. Bencher will remain located in Antioch, Illinois. (Press Release)

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RADIO READING: POPULAR ELECTRONICS MAGAZINES ARCHIVE NOW ON LINE

If you are new to hobby electronics or just nostalgic for the good old days, then the name of a magazine known as popular electronics will definitely ring a bell. And now, thanks to the effort of americanradiohistory.com there is a shared archive of all the Popular Electronics magazines from 1954 to 1982.

But Popular Electronics is not the only publication you will find there. There are millions of pages and hundreds of books and magazines on radio, television, computers and much more. Its all available on the web at www.americanradiohistory.com. The direct link to the Popular Electronics archive is at tinyurl.com/popular-electronics-archive (KB9STR)

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RADIO READING: CLEBRATING QST CENTENNIAL IN 2015

And a happy centennial to the ARRL’s official journal QST Magazine. First published in December 1915, QST is the not only the official membership periodical of the ARRL, it is also the most widely read Amateur Radio magazine in the world with a monthly circulation of more than 165,000.

According to the League, QST kicks off its celebration with a photo contest announced in the January issue, as well as online. Winning photos will appear on several QST covers throughout 2015 and each winning photographer will receive $250.

Also, each 2015 issue of QST will also contain articles and columns republished from vintage issues. “In the January issue we’ll be reprinting the special declaration from the January 1942 QST concerning the cessation of amateur operations at the start of the US entry into World War II. Each vintage article will be reprinted exactly as it appeared in its original issue. According to QST Editor in Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, we chose articles based on either historical relevance or nostalgia value. Ford added that as space permits, QST will be reprinting some vintage Gil Gildersleeve cartoons. He also advises readers to also be on the lookout for occasional appearances of the beloved ‘Stray’ kitties. Long time QST readers will know what that means. (ARRL)

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RADIO READING: VOL 2ISSUE 2 RAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

Volume 2 issue 2 of the free radio astronomy publication RAGazine is now available for download. This latest issue contains articles on Meteor Scatter by Paul Hyde, G4CSD; a VLF Report by John Cook, G8EDG; Choosing a Programming Language by Jeff Lashley, 2E0ODF and much more. You can download your copy at tinyurl.com/ragzine-curent-issue (RAGzine)

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RADIO READING: DECEMBER ISSUE OF CQ-DATV MAGAZINE ON-LINE

The December 2014 issue of CQ-DATV magazine is now available for free download. This issue includes such topics as 70 cm DVBT Transmission Munich Germany; How to Turn a Raspberry
Pi microcomputer into a High Definition TV transmitter and much more. Your free copy along with links to all back issues are available at www.cq-datv.mobi/ebooks.php (CQ-DATV)

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HAM HAPPENINGS: VIDEO: BEHIND THE SCENES AT 2SZ OCTOBER 2014

A new behind the scenes look at the operation of special event station 2-S-Zed is now available for viewing on the web. The video tells the story of the amateur radio station especially constructed at Mill Hill School near London to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the first radio contact between Great Britain and New Zealand

As previously reported, on October 18, 1924, the first radio communication contact between the two countries took place between at Mill Hill School operated by 18 year-old former pupil Cecil Goyder 4AA in Shag Valley, New Zealand, operated by Frank Bell under the call sign 2SZ. The video tells the story of this years celebration. It is on line at tinyurl.com/celebrating-uk-to-nz
(Southgate)

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HAM HAPENINGS: HARA ARENA FACING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

Financial troubles for the longtime home of the Dayton Hamvention. This as WDTN TV News 2 report that the venue located in the suburb of Trotwood has cut back to only a dozen full-time staff to save on operating costs.

The WDTN story quotes Hara’s Director of Marketing, Karen Wampler. She explained the difficulty facing the Hara Arena in competing with other area venues such as the Nutter Center at Wright State University. Wampler went on to describe the primary challenges for the HARA is a need for renovation funds and an ownership model change. To that end Wampler said that the arena is working with VenuWorks, which is a company that specializes in restoring event venues such as the HARA and that she anticipated some very good news in 2015.

A quick look at the Hara Arena web page shows some 60 major events already scheduled between January 2nd and September 26th of 2015 with the Dayton Hamvention in its usual slot in mid-May. Specifically the weekend of May15th to the 17th, so no matter what the TV news report says about the finances of the 165,000 square foot HARA complex, for Hamvention 2015, the show will definitely will go on as planned.

The complete WDTN TV News 2 story is on the web at tinyurl.com/report-on-hara (WDTN)

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HAMVENTION 2015: DAYTON HAMVENTION DX DINNER MAY 15

And speaking about Hamvention 2015, word from the South West Ohio DX Association that it will again sponsor the annual DX Dinner. This is the groups 30th annual dinner and will be held on Friday, May 15^th at the Dayton Marriott on South Patterson Blvd. in Dayton. There will be a cash bar starting at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00. In celebration of this 30th anniversary among other great prizes, Yaesu has generously donated an FT DX-3000 transceiver. Details and dinner reservation information can be found on the events website www.swodxaevents.org. From there simply click on the DX Dinner icon. (AJ8B)

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BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today’s radio amateur. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:

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NITN: TEENAGER WINS PRIZE WITH BREATH TO MORSE CODE CONVERTER

Some names in the news. The Google Science Fair 2014 Voter's Choice Award has been won by 16-year old Arsh Dilbagi of India. His winning device called 'Talk' converts short and long breaths of air into electrical signals, that in turn enables people to communicate using Morse code.

Dilbagi who performed a trial of the unit on a hospital patient in New Delhi, now has $10,000 from Google to further develop the device. The announcement did not state if Dilbagi holds an amateur license. (VK3PC, WIA)

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NTIN: M0PHI NEW CHAIR OF RSGB TRAINING AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The Radio Society of Great Britain has announced the appointment of Philip Willis, M-zero-P-H-I as the new Chairman of its Training and Education Committee Willis succeeds Steve Hartley, G0FUW. (GB2RS)

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HRIS: UK ASTRONAUT COULD WALK ON MARS IN FUTURE NASA MISSION

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says that a British astronaut could walk on Mars as part of a joint United States and United Kingdom expedition to the red planet.

In an October interview with Great Britain’s I-T-V news, Bolden noted that much of the earlier work in aeronautics was done in the United Kingdom. As such, it has always been among the leaders when it came to taking things from the unknown and making them known. He thinks the UK is a perfect partner to try to venture off into the far reaches of the solar system with.

Asked if he saw British astronauts being part of a mission he has said he hoped to launch, he said: “I do. I expect that you will see representatives from many nations, particularly the partner nations that we currently have.”

The complete article is on the web at tinyurl.com/US-UK-Mars (The Guardian)

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HRIS: ARISS CONTINUES EXPANDING ROLE OF ISS HAM TV


The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station or ARISS group is continuing to explore the possibility of establishing a network of ground stations. This, in the hope of enabling the use of the recently activated Ham TV video system during such activities as ARISS school contacts.

Kerry Banke, N6IZW, works on ARISS hardware. He reports that a document under is under development that will describe what is required to build a ground station. He also notes that both he and ARISS International representative Lou McFadin, W5DID, have successfully received Ham TV transmissions from the ISS. (Southgate)

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HRIS: NASA NEW HORIZONS PLUTO SPACECRAFT WAKES UP

After nine years and a journey of three billion miles, NASA's New Horizons robotic probe awoke from hibernation on Saturday, December 5th. This to begin an mission to study the icy Pluto and other dwarf worlds in its Kuiper Belt home.

A preset timing system awoke New Horizons from its electronic slumber at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time but ground control teams didn't receive its confirmation until just after 9:30 p.m. The probe is so far away that radio signals which travel at the speed of light take four hours and 25 minutes to reach Earth.

Pluto lies in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy mini-planets orbiting the sun beyond Neptune. These are believed to be the remains from the formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. It is also the last unexplored region of the solar system.

The scientific observation in that part of the solar system will begin January 15th with the space crafts closest approach is expected on July 14th. (NASA, other news reports)

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RADIOSPORTS: IRTS 80M COUNTIES CONTEST 2015

Turning to radiosports, the Irish Radio Transmitting Society’s 80 Meter Counties Contest takes place on Thursday January 1st. The deadline for the submission of completed logs is January 15th. Logs should be submitted by e-mail to contestmanager (at) irts (dot) ie. (IRTS)

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DX

In DX, RV3ARY, is planning to operate from Mount Vinson in Antarctica between December 24^th and January 3rd. He will use battery power and take a Windom and Yagi antenna for 20 meters. Listen out or him on 7.045, 14.260 and 21.260 MHz. More details including QSL routing will be forthcoming.

F2VX and F9IE will be active stroke FM from Martinique through January 8th. Operations will be on all HF bands using CW and SSB, from FM5WD’s station. They may make a side trip to St. Lucia. QSL via their home callsigns.

FW5JJ is back on Wallis Island after a few months holiday. He is expected to be on Wallis for 2 years or longer. Activity is on the HF bands and 6 meters. He is also on 2 meter E-M-E and has made his first Wallis to France QSO with F6BKI in Bordeaux. QSL direct only via F5RXL.

Members of the West Bengal Radio Club will be active as 8T5MQT from Sagar Island between January 9^th to the 16^th mainly on 14.260 MHz. QSL via VU2NRO. For more details and updates, visit wbradioclub.in.

Members of the Radiogrupo Sur will be operational as CV5A from Flores Island between February 21-23rd. Activity will be on all high frequency bands and modes. QSL via CX2ABC.

Lastly, K4KGG will be active stroke VP9 from Hamilton Parish, Bermuda between December 31st and January 5th. Operations will be on the High Frequency bands only. All contacts will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and ClubLog. QSL via W3HNK, direct or by the Bureau.

This Weeks DX news courtesy of the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter

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THAT FINAL ITEM: ASSEMBLING THE ISS ON-ORBIT

Ad finally tisweek, building the International Space Station took over 40 missions between 1998 and 2011, with one more piece planned for delivery in 2015. Now you can watch the whole thing come together in just a few minutes thanks to a newly released time lapse video.

Those who have ony seen photos of the massive structure circling our planet may be surprised to learn that the ISS in Earth terms is a massive structure weighing over 400 tons spread out over the size of a football field. No booster rocket could carry it into orbit as a completely assembled unit, so it was assembled piece by piece in Earth orbit with components contributed by space agencies. These included the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia and Japan.

So set your web browser to tinyurl.com/building-the-iss, turn the music up and enjoy this short video on how the International Space Station was put together on orbit through the cooperations of nations worldwide. (ESA, spaceion.com)

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NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Rain, the RSGB, the South African Radio League, the Southgate News, TwiT-TV, Australia's WIA News and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350.

Before we go, a reminder that the Dayton Hamvention is currently accepting nominations for its Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, Technical Excellence and Club of the Year Awards.

The Amateur of the Year award will go to a special person who the judging committee believes has made a long term commitment to the advancement of amateur radio.

The Special Achievement Award is presented to a person who has made a single outstanding contribution to the advancement of amateur radio such as spearheading a single significant project.

The Technical Excellence Award is for a person who has made an outstanding technological advancement in the field of amateur radio.

Last but by no means least, the Club of the Year includes all aspects of an organizations accomplishments, activities, and public service.

Nominating forms and information on submitting them including by e-mail are on the web at hamvention.org/awards.php. The deadline for submitting nominations is January 16, 2015.


For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors’ desk, I’m Jim Damron, N8TMW, saying 73 from Charleston, West Virginia, and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

 

Thats really incredible stuff about the pluto spacecraft. I enjoy reading those types of stories. The distance those radio waves are traveling is something. Keep it up!

BM-

 

Just to add a bit of context for the Hara Arena financial woes. Ohio's economy is in pretty bad shape. It's never really recovered from the manufacturing sector collapse and it's been slowly bleeding big names in the past decade or two as well. These are big employers like NCR, DHL, and the like. This undoubtedly has an impact on revenue. There's plenty of competition for conventions and other events as well, the Nutter Center for example, but there are others. Where this will leave Hara in the future, only time will tell. It also doesn't help that Ohio has one of the highest tax rates in the US. That's not geared to keep the bigger corporations.